[For many years, Kashmir has been governed differently than other parts of India, and the government’s decision is widely seen as a blow to Kashmir’s autonomy. India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party, known as the B.J.P., has deep roots in a Hindu nationalist ideology and one of its campaign promises during the election this year had been removing the special status of Kashmir, which is predominantly Muslim.]
By
Jeffrey Gettleman and Sameer Yasir
 |
|
Indian
soldiers standing guard in Srinagar, Kashmir, on Sunday. The Indian
government said on
Monday that it was revoking the disputed region’s
special status.Credit
Dar Yasin/Associated Press
|
NEW
DELHI — The Indian government
said on Monday that it was revoking a constitutional provision that had for
decades given a unique degree of autonomy to Kashmir, a disputed mountainous
region along the India-Pakistan border.
Speaking in the upper house of Parliament on
Monday morning, Amit Shah, the home minister, said that effective immediately,
the government was abrogating parts of Article 370 of the Constitution.
Opposition lawmakers exploded in an uproar.
In anticipation of the announcement, which
many analysts predicted could set off rioting and unrest, India had flooded
Kashmir with thousands of extra troops. The Indian authorities also evacuated
tourists, closed schools and cut off internet service.
For many years, Kashmir has been governed
differently than other parts of India, and the government’s decision is widely
seen as a blow to Kashmir’s autonomy. India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party,
known as the B.J.P., has deep roots in a Hindu nationalist ideology and one of
its campaign promises during the election this year had been removing the
special status of Kashmir, which is predominantly Muslim.
“Today the B.J.P. has murdered the
Constitution of India,” said Ghulam Nabi Azad, a senior leader of the Indian
National Congress, an opposition party.
The Indian government also said that it would
support a parliamentary bill to split the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which
includes the Kashmir Valley, into two federal territories: Jammu and Kashmir,
which will have a state legislature, and Ladakh, a remote, high-altitude
territory, which will be without a legislature.
Mr. Shah said the government had the legal
authority to change Kashmir’s status. Some analysts said that was not so clear
and that the issue would most likely end up before India’s Supreme Court.
A sense of panic has spread across Kashmir as
millions of residents woke up Monday to deserted streets. Relatives of
Kashmiris who could be reached by phone said that many people were fearful
about stepping outside and were waiting in their homes for news about what was
going to happen next.
Many Kashmiris had feared that the Indian
government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would either remove their
region’s special status or turn Kashmir into a federally ruled territory.
Separatist groups, including some that are
armed and maintain links to neighboring Pakistan, have been chafing for
independence from India for years. Analysts say that any steps that reduce
Kashmir’s autonomy could demoralize the Kashmir public further and provoke an
outburst of serious violence.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry condemned the
Indian announcement as a violation of United Nations resolutions, saying in a
statement on Monday that “Pakistan will exercise all possible options to
counter the illegal steps.”
Politicians across the political spectrum
urged the Pakistani government to come up with a strong, swift and effective
diplomatic response.
Shahbaz Sharif, president of the Pakistan
Muslim League-Nawaz political party, said that Pakistan should call for an
emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
“The people of Kashmir cannot be left alone
at this moment,” he said. “We will go to every extent to defend the human
rights and legal rights of Kashmiris.”
Mr. Sharif added, “Kashmir is the jugular
vein of Pakistan, and anyone laying a hand on our jugular vein and honor will
meet a frightful end.”
Before the Indian announcement, as anxiety
was building in Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan said that the
only road to lasting peace in South Asia ran through the region.
In a Twitter post on Sunday, Mr. Khan said
that President Trump had offered to mediate the Kashmir dispute when the two
leaders met in Washington last month.
“This is the time to do so as situation
deteriorates there and along the LOC with new aggressive actions being taken by
Indian occupation forces,” Mr. Khan wrote, referring to the Line of Control,
the name of the disputed border between Pakistan and India. “This has the
potential to blow up into a regional crisis.”
Over the last few days, the authorities in
Kashmir had been issuing satellite phones to senior police officers so they
could communicate in case the cellphone network was disrupted, which happened
around midnight going into Monday, according to widespread news reports.
The authorities have also restricted the
movements of prominent Kashmiri political leaders, including Omar Abdullah and
Mehbooba Mufti, according to many reports in the Indian news media.
Ms. Mufti, the most recent chief minister of
Jammu and Kashmir, said in an interview before Mr. Shah’s announcement on
Monday that Kashmiri politicians were coming together to defend against any
possible moves by India to remove the special laws that grant limited autonomy
to Kashmir under the Indian Constitution.
“There will be chaos if our identity is
compromised,” Ms. Mufti said. “We will go to any extent to preserve that
identity guaranteed under the India Constitution.”
Security officers have evacuated thousands of
tourists, mostly Indians, telling them it was dangerous to be in the valley and
that militant groups might be planning an attack.
Janvi Singh, an entrepreneur from Mumbai, saw
her vacation suddenly cut short.
She had just arrived at her hotel in Gulmarg,
a scenic mountainside town, on Friday when government officials knocked on the
door of her room and told her she needed to leave immediately.
“They didn’t take no for an answer,” Ms.
Singh said.
For decades, Kashmir has been plagued by
turmoil. When India and Pakistan won independence from Britain in 1947, Kashmir
originally opted to remain a small independent state.
But militants from Pakistan soon invaded
Kashmir, leading it to seek protection from India. Kashmir agreed to become
part of India only under certain conditions that guaranteed its autonomy, which
were protected by Article 370. India and Pakistan then fought several wars over
the area and today most of Kashmir is administered by India, with a smaller
slice controlled by Pakistan, which like Kashmir is majority Muslim.
Tensions reached a breaking point in
February, when a Kashmiri militant rammed a vehicle filled with explosives into
a convoy of Indian paramilitary forces traveling on a highway, killing at least
40 soldiers. A banned terrorist group, Jaish-e-Muhammad, which is based in
Pakistan, claimed responsibility.
It was the worst attack in the region in
three decades, and set off a tense military standoff between India and Pakistan
that culminated in a dogfight between Indian and Pakistani warplanes. Pakistan
shot down and captured an Indian pilot, who was soon handed back to India.
Over the last year, activists say, the hunt
for separatists has intensified, pulling ordinary Kashmiris into the fold.
Indian Army officials said Friday that they
had specific information about a planned attack by Pakistan-based militants on
Hindu pilgrims and tourists.
But many Kashmiris were skeptical of those
claims and wondered if there was another explanation for the sudden troop
buildup in the region, already one of the most heavily militarized areas in the
world.
Many residents are now panicking. People are
hoarding supplies, causing shortages of medicine and baby food. Many fuel
stations ran dry as thousands of people lined up through Friday and Saturday
nights to fill their cars with gas.
“All the hotels in Gulmarg are empty,” said
Muzamil Ahmad, director of an upscale hotel there.
Germany, one of the few Western countries
that had earlier removed restrictions on travel to the region, issued a travel
advisory asking its citizens to avoid the valley. Britain, Australia and Israel
issued similar warnings.
Along the Line of Control, both sides have
been building up their troop levels.
On Saturday, Pakistani officials accused
India of using cluster bombs along the border that killed two civilians and
wounded 11 on the Pakistan side. India denied it used cluster bombs, which have
been criticized across the world as being dangerous to civilians.
Jeffrey Gettleman reported from New Delhi,
and Sameer Yasir from Srinagar, Kashmir. Reporting was contributed by Hari
Kumar, Kai Schultz and Suhasini Raj from New Delhi, and Salman Masood from
Lahore, Pakistan.
